Many projects require compacting a surface. For example, various types of construction projects may require compacting surfaces formed by substances like soil, gravel, and asphalt. Various types of specialized machines exist for compacting such surfaces, including, but not limited to, surface rollers and vibrating plates. Such surface compactors operate by applying downward force on the surface with a base of the surface compactor, which base may include, for example, one or more rollers and/or one or more base plates.
Some surface compactors include a vibratory mechanism for generating a fluctuating vertical force on the base of the surface compactor to enhance surface compaction. The results achieved by such a surface compactor may depend in part on the amplitude of the fluctuating vertical force generated by the vibratory mechanism. Accordingly, there exist various control methods for adjusting the magnitude of the fluctuating vertical force to achieve different results. In many existing vibratory compactors, a single base plate is welded to the bottom of the vibratory unit. In some instances, an engine or hydraulic motor controllably rotates at least one eccentric mass to impart vibratory motion at a particular frequency to the base plate. The result is an oscillatory force with the frequency of the speed of rotation, and an amplitude dependent on the mass eccentricity and speed of rotation. Variations on this basic system include multiple eccentric weights and/or shafts such that by changing the phasing of the multiple weights and/or shafts, the degree of force created by the eccentric masses can be varied. Vibratory compactors may also include a removable base plate, such that various sized and shaped base plates may be used with the same vibratory mechanism, and worn or damaged base plates may be readily replaced. In cases where the base plate is removable, a locking mechanism is provided to hold the base plate in place during operation of the vibratory compactor.
Vibratory plate compactor base plates are usually one piece, and are typically a thick plate with formed leading and trailing edges or cast base plates with the leading and trailing edges configured to curve upwards from a remaining flat central portion of the base plate. European Patent EP 2083123 A2 to Schrode (“the EP '123 patent”) discloses a vibratory compactor with a removable base plate. In the EP '123 patent a quick-release latch is actuated by a double-acting hydraulic cylinder configured to receive hydraulic fluid from an excavator that operatively carries the vibratory compactor.
Although the EP '123 patent discloses an apparatus and method for removably attaching a base plate to a vibratory compactor, additional benefits and flexibility may be achievable by providing a removable base plate that also includes interchangeable leading and trailing edge pieces configured to be joined along leading and trailing edges of a central, planar, rectangular-shaped base plate. Conventional methods for manufacturing a removable base plate for a vibratory plate compactor generally involve forming a one piece base plate from a relatively thick plate of metal ranging in thickness from approximately 25-30 mm. The removable base plate is formed with a configuration including at least a leading edge that curves upward to allow dirt or other materials being compacted to be guided underneath the base plate as the vibratory plate compactor is moved along the surface. The relatively thick base plate is generally made longer than its final length in order to provide extra material along the leading and trailing edges that can be bent upward and then trimmed to the desired final dimensions for the base plate. This process for forming the base plate results in wasted material, and the process of bending the leading and trailing edges can be a difficult manufacturing operation involving large forces and the inability to precisely control the finished geometry and dimensions of the base plate. Further improvements to vibratory plate compactors may also be achievable by the added flexibility of providing interchangeable edge pieces that may be selectively joined to one or both of the leading and trailing edges of a planar, standardized, rectangular-shaped central plate.
The methods and apparatus for configuring a removable base plate assembly of a vibratory plate compactor with interchangeable leading and trailing edge pieces according to the present disclosure solve one or more of the problems set forth above.